Tesem

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tesem
domestic dog
)

Tesem (

Ancient Egyptian: ṯzm, tjezem; ) was the ancient Egyptian name for "hunting dog". In popular literature it denotes the prick-eared, leggy dog with a curled tail from the early Egyptian age, but it was also used with reference to the lop-eared "Saluki/Sloughi" type.[1] It was one of several types of dogs in Ancient Egypt
; particularly the latter Saluki/Sloughi type of Tesem, having the appearance most similar to that of a true sighthound.

History

Examples of three different types of dogs shown on Egyptian monuments

Three main types of dogs are shown in

pariah dogs.[6] One scholar applies the name Tesem to both types of greyhound-like dogs.[1]

The prick-eared Tesem's origins are presumed to be from further south than Egypt, from Nubia and also the Land of Punt,[7] whose location is unclear but thought to be to the southeast of Egypt on the Horn of Africa.[8]

A drawing of a Tesem-type dog appears in

Protodynastic Period of Egypt (dated 3200 BC to 3000 BC). The dogs were drawn with upright ears and a tightly curled tail.[9] One of the earliest known recordings of these dogs is the "Khufu dog" from the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu,[10] who reigned between 2609 and 2584 BC.[11] This dog was named Akbaru, and was depicted wearing a collar.[10]

They continued to appear during the Middle Kingdom period (2055 BC and 1650 BC), but by the time of the New Kingdom (1550 BC - 1069 BC), they were replaced by dogs with hanging ears and a straight tail.[9] These dogs were of the Saluki/Sloughi type.[12]

The Pharaoh Hound of Malta and the Cirneco dell'Etna of Sicily were both popularly and controversially thought to be possible descendants of the Tesem.[13] [14]

Description

Ancient Egyptians gave the name Tesem to the early curly-tailed dogs that resembled a

pariah dogs of the time. The structure of their skeleton was closer to that of the modern terrier than that of the modern greyhound.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Brixhe, Jean. 1996 Lévriers, chiens de chasse, de travail et de compagnie dans l'Egypte ancienne University of Liege
  2. ^ "The manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians". 1878. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  3. ^ "Life in ancient Egypt". 1894. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  4. ^ "Life in ancient Egypt". 1894. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  5. ^ Goldwasser (2002): p. 106
  6. ^ Goldwasser (2002): p. 93
  7. ^ .
  8. .
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ .
  11. .
  12. .
  13. ^ Mormino, Vincenzo. "The Sicilian Hound". Best of Sicily Magazine. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  14. ^ Petr Fismol. "Pharaoh hound - el Negma kennel". Elnegma.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  15. ^ a b Naville, Edouard (1914). The Cemeteries of Abydos. Part 1. 1909-1910. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. p. 40.
  16. ^ Lydekker, R (1916). Wild Life of the World. Vol. III. London: Frederick Warne and Co. p. 19.
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Tesem. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy